Category: Christian Faith & Life
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What Prayer Means to You: A Letter From the Editor
Fellow prayer-teachers, I can’t remember ever giving much thought to how many different ways the apostle Paul said that the results of his ministry depended on prayer. Of course the gospel is “the power of God that brings salvation” (Romans 1:16). Faith comes not from prayer but from “hearing the message” (Romans 10:17). (And of…
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Jesus and His Doubting Disciples
In these weeks after Easter Sunday, read about the risen Jesus’ visits with his troubled followers. Their conversations about sight and belief remain relevant to our faith today. This narrative version of the gospel account is taken from the popular book When Christ Walked Among Us: The Messiah’s Life and Ministry. Jesus Appears to Ten Disciples…
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On the Way to Jerusalem
As Holy Week approaches, read about one extraordinary miracle Christ performed in the days before his last trip into Jerusalem. This narrative version is taken from the popular book When Christ Walked Among Us: The Messiah’s Life and Ministry. When Jesus’ travels in Perea had come to an end, it was time for him to head…
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New and Eye-Opening Devotionals:
A Letter From the EditorDear Fellow Students of the Word, In my letters and blog posts to pastors, I usually write about a recently published book that is geared particularly toward pastors. This time I’ve chosen to write about a devotional book (actually a two-part set) that is intended for any mature Christian reader. At the same time, I…
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Pray for the Scattered and Afflicted:
A Letter From the EditorFellow Intercessors, Consider this three-part prayer Philip Melanchthon prayed with his colleagues: “We shall commend our cause, therefore, to Christ, who some time will judge these controversies, and we beseech Him to look upon the afflicted and scattered churches, and to bring them back to godly and perpetual concord.” (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Preface,…
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Jesus has Secured the Universe
In Romans 13:11, Paul reminds you, “The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” But how do we open our eyes from our sleep? What will secure us from our own nightmares of ignorance and sin? How do we…
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God’s Word is Always the Solution:
A Letter From the EditorDear fellow servant of the Word, Has the ministry of our called workers changed over the past few decades? Perhaps it has in some ways. We certainly live in a broken world. That’s not new. It has been broken from the time Adam and Eve coveted the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good…
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Letter from the Editor: Learning About Luther’s Family Life
Dear soul-tenders and conscience-menders, I recently read an article titled “Four Lies That Cause Pastors to Neglect Their Families.” The same week I found another article advising pastors, “Prioritize family over ministry. You’ll find it to be the Best. Decision. Ever.”